So, what does a wiki look like? You're on a wiki right now. Most wikis have a fairly simple interface. Unlike traditional websites, a basic wiki isn't designed for "fluff", but rather content. Text drives the wiki, however that doesn't mean you can't add multimedia elements, graphics, and documents to wiki pages.
But you might be asking yourself how time consuming or difficult managing a wiki might be, and I'm happy to say that it's very basic. The editing process is simple enough for very young users to learn. If you can click "Edit This Page", type, and then click "Save", that's all there is to creating basic content. Wikispaces does not allow for a great deal of customization to the text itself. The only option for text color (other than links) is black. There are not font choices, and the only other way to customize text is bold, italics, underline, and there are a variety of size options as well.
Wikis can be edited from any computer with an Internet connection, making quick changes a snap. Customizing the background color, table of contents to pages, a customized navigation bar, adding additional pages, creating links, etc is simple and quick. But what about some some examples? Check out the links in the chart below to see ideas on how wikis can be used in education and for other purposes.
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Arrr...Pirates!
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grade Enhanced Learning students used this wiki to show off their research on Pirates.
There are a variety of free hosting sites for wikis, Wikispaces being one of the three most popular. There is also PBWiki and Wetpaint wiki as well. Each site offers a slightly different format, but I personally have found Wikispaces to be the easiest to use and navigate.
The PDF version of the newsletter for February.
Table of Contents
Wild About Wikis!
So, what does a wiki look like? You're on a wiki right now. Most wikis have a fairly simple interface. Unlike traditional websites, a basic wiki isn't designed for "fluff", but rather content. Text drives the wiki, however that doesn't mean you can't add multimedia elements, graphics, and documents to wiki pages.
But you might be asking yourself how time consuming or difficult managing a wiki might be, and I'm happy to say that it's very basic. The editing process is simple enough for very young users to learn. If you can click "Edit This Page", type, and then click "Save", that's all there is to creating basic content. Wikispaces does not allow for a great deal of customization to the text itself. The only option for text color (other than links) is black. There are not font choices, and the only other way to customize text is bold, italics, underline, and there are a variety of size options as well.
Wikis can be edited from any computer with an Internet connection, making quick changes a snap. Customizing the background color, table of contents to pages, a customized navigation bar, adding additional pages, creating links, etc is simple and quick. But what about some some examples? Check out the links in the chart below to see ideas on how wikis can be used in education and for other purposes.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grade Enhanced Learning students used this wiki to show off their research on Pirates.
Collaborative wiki students produced to prepare for video conference with people in Peru
sponsored by the State of Israel Ministry of Education Culture and Sports Pedagogic Secretariat
Make sure you check the long list of linked pages on the left and discussion tabs
There are a variety of free hosting sites for wikis, Wikispaces being one of the three most popular. There is also PBWiki and Wetpaint wiki as well. Each site offers a slightly different format, but I personally have found Wikispaces to be the easiest to use and navigate.
Should you be interested in learning more about using wikis in your classroom, check out the professional learning opportunities available. Also, you can play around on my Playground Wiki. No worries, you can't ruin a thing.